Ash tray



Dec. 15, 1953 G. A. LYON 2,662,532

ASH TRAY Filed Sept. 9, 1948 271 527 227. 6209615 415477 Ya/v PatentedDec. 15, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ASH TRAY George Albert Lyon,Detroit, Mich. Application September 9, 1948, Serial No. 48,470

2 Claims. I

This invention relates to cigar and cigarette ash trays and moreparticularly to a combination cigarette holder and ash receiver.

An object of this invention is to provide a holder which can be veryeconomically stamped from sheet metal, such as scrap metal, removed fromthe center of the automobile wheel trim rings in the manufacture of therings.

Another object of this invention is to provide a one piece dished panadapted to serve as a cigarette holder and ash receptacle and which doesnot have to have any additional elements fastened thereto for supportingthe cigarette.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a cigarette holder andash tray which will support the lit cigarette as it is burning in suchmanner that there is no likelihood of the cigarette, as it is consumed,dropping or rolling oiT of the tray.

In accordance with the general features of this invention there isprovided in a cigarette and ash holder at dished pan having its centerapertured and provided with a plurality of upwardly turning fingersdefining the aperture and spaced from each other so as to form betweenadjoining fingers a ledge on which the lit end of a cigarette may restbetween the fingers and with its lit end directly over the aperture.

Another feature of this invention relates to providing in the foregoingpan an upstanding rib radially outward of the fingers to define anadditional support for an intermediate portion of the cigarette so thatshould the cigarette burn to a point where it is no longer supported bythe finger ledge, its lit end will not roll oii of the same.

Still another feature of the foregoing invention relates to making theforegoing pan in its entirety out of a one piece metal stamping.

Other objects and features of this invention will more fully appear fromthe following detail description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawing which illustrates a certain embodiment thereof andin which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of my novel ash tray and holder with a cigarettethereon; and

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially on line IIlooking upwardly showing the dished pan supported on a suitablereceptacle.

As shown on the drawings:

The reference character It] designates generally an ash tray andreceptacle assembly comprising a dished tray or pan H and a bottomdished receptacle l2. Each of these two parts still drop in the pan andcomprises a single stamping made from any suitable sheet material such,for example, as metal sheet. In fact, I contemplate making these partsfrom the scrap discs left over in the stamping of automobil trim ringsof sheet steel.

While I have shown the tray II as being supported by a particularreceptacle l2, it is, of course, clear that the pan ll could besupported on any other suitable support without departing from thespirit of this invention.

The receptacle l2 has a curved outer turned margin l3 adapted to restinside a curved outer marginal flange M of the tray II. This enables thetray to be detachably supported on end in concentric relation to thereceptacle I 2.

The dished tray II has two concentric corrugations or depressions I 5and I 6 joined by an intermediate upstanding annular rib or corrugationI! which is adapted to serve as a support for a cigarette, such as thecigarette C.

The central portion of the tray or pan II is apertured at I9 and thisaperture is defined by a serpentine edge (Figure 1) which includes aplurality of upwardly turned spaced fingers 20. The fingers are spacedto receive an end of a cigarette adapted to rest on a ledge 2| betweenadjoining fingers.

The fingers need not tightly grip the lit end of the cigarette C butmerely serve to confine the cigarette on the ledge and prevent rollingso that the lit end of the cigarette C may be supported directly overthe aperture I 9. This enables the ashes from the lit end of thecigarette to drop into the receptacle l 2.

It is clear from Figure 2 that the cigarette is not only supported onthe ledge 2| but is also supported adjacent its other end on the rib l1.Accordingly, should the cigarette burn to a point radially outwardly ofthe ledge 2 I, its lit end can drop into the depression IS with itsother end still resting on the rib I'l.

It is clear from th foregoing that the dished tray ll comprises in itsentirety a very simple stamping having no appendages or parts fastenedthereto and hence is very economical to manufacture as well as to clean.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an ash tray, a dished tray member having an annular rib-likedownturned margin adapted to be nested upon the upper edge of areceptacle, a central portion of the tray member having an aperture, theportion of the tray member defining the aperture being turned upwardlyand of serpentine formation defining a series of upstanding fingers, theportion between the fingers and said down-turned margin of the traymember comprising a pair of annular concentric generallycorrugation-like depressions of difierent diameters and one inside theother, the depressions being divided by an upstanding intermediateannular rib, said rib being spaced from said fingers a substantialdistance to support an intermediate portion of a cigarette with thelighted end overhanging the aperture and engaged between a pair of thefingers and with the other end of the cigarette overhanging theoutermost of the depressions, said intermediate rib radially outwardlyof the respective notches, being higher than the notches between saidfingers and the rib-like margin being higher than said intermediate rib.

2. An ash tray member comprising a generally dished plate having anupstanding rib-like outer margin, said plate having a central aperturedefined by an upstanding margin of scalloped form providing a series ofgenerally upstanding but generally convergently directed rounded fingersaffording upwardly opening cigarette supporting notches therebetween,and an intermediate annular upstanding rib dividing the portion of theplate between said inner upstanding margin and said rib-like outermargin into a pair of concentric grooves, the outer rib-like marginbeing at a higher elevation than the intermediate rib and theintermediate rib being located radially outwardly of the notches betweensaid fingers and at a higher elevation than the notches between saidfingers, whereby a cigarette supported with its burning end over saidaperture and resting between a pair of said fingers and bridging theinner of said grooves to rest on said intermediate rib, lies on aninward slant and will have its butt end disposed radially inwardly ofthe outer margin of the plate, and the outermost groove wil1 receive thecigarette butt in the event the cigarette burns back beyond theintermediate rib and from which outermost groove the butt is preventedfrom escaping radially outwardly by the upstanding rib-like outermargin.

GEORGE ALBERT LYON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date D. 104,161 Green Apr. 20, 1937 D. 120,409 Myers May 7, 1940 D.147,720 Dean Oct. 21, 1947 691,166 Norton Jan. 14, 1902 1,172,411 VonKaenel Feb. 22, 1916 1,512,765 Home Oct. 21, 1924 1,717,974 HeinrichsJune 18, 1929 1,745,761 Hiering Feb. 4, 1930 2,007,523 Emery July 9,1935 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 265,406 Great Britain Feb. 10,1927 584,350 Great Britain Jan. 13, 1947

